Keeping Putin off Brics agenda was deliberate

Amid dominating news about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expected attendance at the August leaders’ summit to be held in Johannesburg being kept off the agenda, the two-day Brics foreign ministers’ meeting on Friday ended in Cape Town, with the gathering calling for a more inclusive, multipolar world – fostering a dialoguer to peace.

But senior research associate with the Institute for Global Dialogue, Sanusha Naidu, has seen nothing improper in Brics foreign ministers keeping the Putin matter off the programme for discussion during a meeting which also served to prepare for the Sandton summit.

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“I think it was the right approach.

“The Brics foreign ministers simply did not want the Putin issue to become the main headline the following day – hence it was off the agenda.

“Claims in the media about South Africa moving the summit to China, are quite ludicrous and disturbing – not worth investing a lot of energy on.”

She said the Brics foreign ministers’ meeting “gave us a sense of the direction that Brics is taking”.

“What has come out clearly after the two days of deliberations, has been that Brics is not just about a focus on economics but is also about the geo-political matters.

“Brics is about developing different avenues of engagement, which International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor mentioned during the press briefing, with the body having to start deepening cooperation.

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Political point-scoring

“Nobody is condoning what is happening in Ukraine, but the energy that we have invested in political point-scoring, show a level of being misinformed.

“It is now for the first time in years that we are beginning to see a bold move towards the changing of the world order – suggesting that it is the unravelling of the world order that frightens the gate-keepers of the international system.

“The fact is that Brics has opened up the international system – giving countries who wish to apply for membership, an option to hedge their interests.

“If the international system as it stands does not allow you and me to exercise our right to choose – to be equal partners in the global system – then what is the use of banging on the door and not being let in.

“The seat at the table is not enough if the ability to influence change and develop policy – to shift the international arena to become equitable and inclusive in participation and engagement – is not achievable,” argued Naidu.

Pressure

She said countries like South Africa were being put under pressure “to pander to western demands”.
Said Naidu: “The United States needs us just as we need them.

“The Indian foreign minister said a mouthful when he said we can’t continue talking about a system that refuses to change.

“There has been a lot of speculation and focus on issues that are deviating from the bigger challenges the world is facing today, with the international system not having been able to accommodate countries that are evolving.

“Those very same institutions that are supposed to be gate-keeping global governance, economic and political reform, have been weakened – something suiting the gate-keepers.”

With a dozen countries, who included Turkey, Argentina, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, having expressed interest in joining Brics, Naidu said: “When you have countries like Argentina and Saudi Arabia wanting to be part of Brics, that tells you something very important – that the current architecture of system defining global relations is very frustrating for countries.

Reflecting on the Brics foreign ministers’ meeting, Pandor said: “We were thrilled that all Brics ministers were present.

“This is a mid-term meeting preparing for the leaders’ summit in August.

“We deliberated and reflection of global and regional politics, economic development – including our desire for a change in the international governance system.

“We also looked at what links that should be there between Brics and the G20 in an increasing multipolar world.

“We have a sense that we are moving away from the unipolar towards an increasing interest in multipolarity.”

ALSO READ: Brics summit to be held in Joburg, with Putin’s shadow looming large

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